The Great Mouse Detective: The Temporal Trap
by TalyaJB
Summary: Ratigan has been transported 500 years into the future by an unknown force, leaving Agent 194 to seek the aid of Basil of Baker Street to defeat him once again. On hiatus until December 16, 2013.
1. Chapter 1

The Great Mouse Detective: The Temporal Trap

Sunday June 20, 1897 London, England

He was falling, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. His death rushed up to meet him: hard brick roads and spired rooftops that would shatter his bones, and splatter his entrails across the foot of Big Ben. He had lost. His adversary was nowhere to be seen. His only hope was that his enemy would suffer the same fate as himself. The only comfort he would know.

He could now see the tops of individual houses, quickly resolving themselves into finer detail as he drew nearer. It was about to end. His great career was over. Anger flared in his chest as he contemplated for the last time what Basil had stolen from him: the power to rule over the greatest empire of the day. Damn that detective! If there were any miracles in this world, he would have his revenge against that second- rate detective!

He could now see the individual bricks in the road below him. He would not close his eyes. That's what Basil would have done. No! He was going to face his death head on! He would go with dignity and mastery of all fear. So if any could see him, they would know the awesome strength of his will, even in death!

The fine grains in the brick rushed up to meet him. There was a loud unearthly hum over the sound of the wind rushing past his fur, a bright light filled his eyes, and all went dark.

January 14, 2497 London, England

Briar Wood sat at her desk in Temporal Investigations completely bored out of her mouse mind. She was on temporary Intelligence duty today, and she could not have been any less pleased.

Briar was a Temporal Agent known to the community as Agent 194, a specially trained, elite detective who investigated and repaired damages to the flow of time, and was the leader of the small team of twelve Agents. She was not a desk- jockey, nor did she want to be. (Although, the Agency did want to move their best Agent up to Director.) She was an adventurer at heart, and she loved the thrill of the hunt, the push and pull of the time vortex, and her current Director known only as The Director. Staring uselessly at computer screens was not her thing. That was left for Investigators like her friend Rebecca.

Briar thought of her partner in crime for a moment. Rebecca was an android, built by Briars' nemesis, Dr. Rathbone to destroy Briar at all costs. Dr. Rathbone's only problem was that he had built Rebecca (known then as R-12) too well. She gained for herself an intelligence of her own, and grew tired of being treated like useless scrap metal. So, in a great fight in the French catacombs, she betrayed Dr. Rathbone and came to Briar's aid. The two had been inseparable ever since. So much so, that Briar helped her friend get a job in the Agency.

Briar smiled at the thought of her friend, then cringed. The only reason Briar was taking over Rebecca's job was because her friend had been attacked by an unknown individual and had lost an arm in the struggle. Rebecca was being repaired. Briar hoped that her dear friend would be safe. If someone were to interfere with her circuitry, then Briar would lose her best friend forever. She had to do just as good a job at Rebecca's desk today as Rebecca did for her when she was in the field to honor her android comrade.

She turned her eyes back to the screen, and ran her fingers through her long black hair and bangs. Maybe she could locate who had attacked Becca.

Briar flicked her wrist and blinked several times to call up the street cam where Becca was attacked, just at the foot of the site of the First Big Ben. Strange that Becca would be attacked there of all places, only two blocks away from Scotland Yard Headquarters. Briar watched the video play on the holographic screen. Becca was walking past a dark alleyway when a large claw grabbed her by the neck, and pulled her into the dark. There must have been some talking that the old street cams couldn't detect, because there was silence for several moments.

Then, came the scream. A horrible drawn out thing of pain and terror. Briar heart wreched with agony at the sound. Becca flew out of the dark, the lower three quarters of her right arm gone. Electro- filaments sparking and flapping uselessly in the faint wind the weather- generators caused.

Movement in the darkness caught Briar's eye. It was so fast that someone watching the android writhe on the ground as her circuitry went haywire would not notice. But Briar did.

"Computer," Briar commanded, "Pause, then reverse 180 frames!"

The machine did as it was told. The movement was caused by a face staring open mouthed at the android. A rat. Dr. Rathbone? Briar was not sure. The face was too blurry and hidden in shadow to give any positive identification without altering the picture.

"Zoom here," Commanded the Agent, touching the face with a long finger.

Instantly the computer blew the face up to fill the screen.

"Brighten."

The shadows melted away.

"Enhance."

The features of a rat Briar did not recognize came into view in perfect clarity. He was a bigger rat than Rathbone, that was for sure. His hair was parted exactly down the center and slicked back almost perfectly (odd), and his large face had a faint five o' clock shadow. He also appeared to have no clothes, no torn clothes covering his neck of a design Briar was not familiar with. Who was he?

Briar commanded the computer to extract the image and sent it to her temporal suit computer. Briar Wood was going topside.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello to all. It's great to see such enthusiasm for my story!

However, I do have some things I'd like to mention.

I own nothing that Disney hasn't already made (Basil, Ratigan, etc.). I wish I did, but I don't.

Updates will be once a week or so. (Unless I have a blast of author's brilliance and dig up some literary gold!)

Rating may change to T as the story progresses.

**Now, for what you all came for!**

* * *

January 17, 2497 London, England

Useless! It had all been so useless! For three days Briar flew over the city of London and surrounding countryside, scanning for that mysterious rat. He was gone! Briar's frustration began to boil over. No one could simply disappear! Her equipment could sense even the faintest of vital signs under several hundred meters of solid rock, it was impossible to hide from a Temporal Agent!

But that rat could hide. Somehow he must've discovered a glitch in the system or a way to fool her scanners. What could fool her scanners? Briar racked her brains for an answer. Every Technician would tell her that this was an impossible question. Those fools were so confident about their gear. It was their jobs to keep Agents safe, just as it was an Agent's job to keep the peace of the timeline. They would never assume that there was a problem with the way their stuff was built. Any fault in the machinery was due to user error.

Rage coursed through Briar's every nerve. User error! She had scanned every centimeter of ground at every cubic centimeter of depth that her scanners could reach for seventy-nine hours straight! There was no way she could've messed up!

Or could she?

Still flying over the bustling city, Briar looked up into the now twilit sky. Stars were just beginning to twinkle in the sky, almost mocking her anger with their gentle shines.

Where was this dangerous and mysterious stranger? Who was he? What did he want? Briar's brain popped with more questions than she could answer. Hopelessness engulfed the mouse as she stared up into the sky, tear tracks glinting on her face.

"Rebecca," she muttered aloud.

Several moments passed. Briar stared at the stars while they glinted unashamedly down at her. They did nothing to soothe her aching heart.

Her helmet communications console beeped twice, and a little red dot appeared in the corner of her eyescreen.

"Incoming call from Rebecca," the musical womanly voice of Briar's computer alerted her.

"Open call," she commanded.

The red dot expanded to become Rebecca's friendly face. Everything that Briar remembered about her friend was exactly the same: her big blue eyes, her short rusty fur, the cream streak down her nose, her bright smile, and the crisp white collar of a linen blouse. They hadn't changed a thing.

"Hey Briar!" Rebecca beamed.

"Becca! You're all right!"

"Of course I'm all right, silly! It would take more than a missing arm to put me out of action!"

Becca's smile fell.

"Are you topside?"

"Yeah. I'm looking for your attacker."

"Found anything?"

"No. I've been out for days looking for him, but there's no trace."

"But when did you sleep?"

"What is this sleep you speak of?"

Becca didn't laugh.

"That's not funny, Thorn-in-my-side! You biological beings need sleep to function properly!"

"Whatever. You sound like a bad health holo-text."

Briar decided to change the subject.

"Where are you?"

"Baker Street. I thought you would be home."

"I'll meet you there. I have some questions I'd like to ask you."

"Sure. Bad health holo-text signing off."

Becca's face disappeared from the eyescreen.

Briar turned her face toward home, and opened the throttle of her anti-grav jetpack wide.


End file.
